Regulator cones with rectangular or V-shaped groves provided on the circumferential surface thereof are previously known in the art, for example from German Patent Specification DE 1062507.
In regulating the flow in a piping system, it is often necessary to obtain an exponential flow characteristic to be able to achieve performance targets. The flow characteristic is defined as the relationship between the flow and the stroke length.
In flow regulation in piping systems which are fed at a substantially constant liquid pressure at one end and, in their other end, discharge towards another lower, substantially constant liquid pressure, i.e. from a pressure tank to an open level vessel, the total pressure drop over the piping system will be distributed between, on the one hand, the pressure drop in the pipes due to flow losses, and, on the other hand, pressure drop over the regulator cone. Thereby, the pressure drop over the regulator cone will be a function of the flow.
In flow regulation in systems in which the pressure drop over the regulator cone is a function of the flow, the surface area characteristic must be steeper than the flow characteristic, since the surface area characteristic must also compensate for the reducing pressure drop over the regulator cone upon increasing flow. The surface area characteristic is defined as the relationship between the regulator surface and the stroke length.
Conventional types of regulator cones do not provide a desired surface area increase, nor do the prior art regulator cones that are provided with V-grooves display such a flow characteristic.